He made us huge Oreo and banana pancakes, taking the burnt one for himself. When we were in the car and got close to where we were headed, he made me cover my eyes. "Don't look!" he said. "I don't want to spoil the surprise."

He brought me to the zoo: a cute, small zoo, with birds and monkeys and tortoises and ocelots and bald eagles and bison and donkeys and cows and, most importantly, him.